Helping out pool cleaning

[jorgeL]

Hello all,
I have a few questions that I need advice on. I just started helping out a friend of mine take care of her pool. She told me that she has not had had service since early December and now it is mid-late January. I checked her chemical levels, which I detail below. The chlorine level was 0 and sure enough I found algae in the skimmer basket and the robot cleaner. My questions are:

• Is the only way to treat the algae at this point to empty the water, acid wash and refill, since the CYA is sho high?
• How do I clean the skimmer basket and robot? (it would probably be easier just to replace the skimmer basket but the robot i would like to clean if possible)
• I used my own brush and net to brush and skim her pool, should I use the same equipment to clean my own pool or do i need to somehow sanitize them before I use them in my own pool?

I did add a couple of trichlor tablets before I left, I was going to add liquid chlorine but I ended up just adding the tablets to at least have some chlorine in there before I go back again.

FC: 0
CC: 0
pH: 8+
TA: 150
CH: 750
CYA: 200

Pool details:
20k Gal Pool
Pebbletech
Pentair VSPF pump
Pentair Cartridge filter
Pentair Rebel Cleaner
Ultra UV2 water sanitizer with Clear O3

 

[ajw22]

With CYA of 200 and CH of 750 about 90% of the water needs to be drained or exchanged. Exactly how much depends on how the pool will be chlorinated going forward and the desired CYA level.

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Once the pool chemistry is down then follow the SLAM Process to get rid of the rest of the algae.

The SLAM Process will deal with the algae in the skimmer with some brushing of it. You can leave the cleaner in the pool for the SLAM Process or dump the cleaner in a bucket of chlorinated water and brush it.

 

[jorgeL]

Thanks a lot for the read! The pool is almost brand new, it was built late last srping, so not even a year old, the read states that there could be some risks from high water tables when draining out the pool, are there any extra precautions that i need to take because the pool is new?

 

[Casey]

If there is a high water table, I'd be very careful doing the water exchange. You can pull water from one end n add to the other.

 

[proavia]

Chances of a high water table here jn the East Valley are slim to none. Is your friend also in Gilbert or an adjacent city? How many gallons is this pool? Is this a SWG pool?

Check to see where the city requires you to drain the pool. In Chandler, we are required to drain to the sanitary sewer. No draining to the street. And even backwash water must be retained on the lot or sent down the sanitary sewer.

If the CYA is 200 and CH 750, best to do a full drain and refill. Rinse the sides of the pool down during the drain. No need to acid wash - but after refill, you will probably need to SLAM Process to eradicate all the left over algae. Once refilled, raise the CYA to 40 and begin the SLAM Process. CYA can be raised to 50 (non-SWG) or 70 (SWG pool) as the temps warm in late spring. You will also have to adjust the pH (and the TA will come down on its own as you continue to adjust the pH). The fill water CH in the Gilbert/Chandler area will be 200-250 ppm. Don't worry about raising it as evaporation and water additions will raise the CH (is pool using regular tap water or softened water for autofill?)

Drain and start the refill immediately. Don't leave the pool empty. Once you start the refill, don't stop until the pool is full.

Clean the skimmer basket and your own pool tools in a separate bucket (or small clean trash can) of water that has 10-12 ppm of FC in it. Let them soak for 30-60 minutes (swoosh them around a bit). Rinse well when done. You can probably do the same to the robot and hoses - just rinse it all really well.

 

[jorgeL]

Hello Gene,
The pool is at Gilbert as well. 20k Gal IG pool, it is not SWG, it has been kept clean with chlorine tablets by a pool cleaning company. Thanks for the tip on cleaning my equipment, I am doing that right now.

I have another question that came up in today's maintenance. So I went today to see how the levels of chlorine were since I added two tablets last time I went, and the FC was probably less than 0.5. I am not so sure why, maybe becuase the thriclor tablets that I used were old, probably 2+ years old, and that is why, so I used pool math to increase the chlorine at least some so that I can test any combined chlorine. I added 1 Gal of liquid Chlorine 10%, ran the pump at high speed for 3 hours, came back and my FC was at 4.6 ppm which is very close to what I expected, but the combined chlorine was 0! That I am not understanding, I thought I would see some CC but there was none, i repeated the test with 0.2ppm measurements with my Taylor K2006 FAS-DPD test kit, and even then the CC reading was 0. My reagents don't expire until October of this yer, so I am not sure what is going on. If there is no combined chlorine then there is no algae? But then why do I see the algae in the robot cleaner, skimmer and pump baskets?

 

[mknauss]

You can have algae and no CC.

CC is eliminated from the pool by the sun shining on its surface.

 

[jorgeL]

So then a couple of questions come to mind, the first is how do I know that I have algae if my CC is 0 besides just physically seeing it? I could do the overnight test but then does that mean that I should be doing the overnight test periodically?
Second question: Do I still need to drain the pool? I think the answer is yes since I can see algae. Just making sure I am not missing something.

 

[mknauss]

There is three criteria for a successful completion of a SLAM Process. If you have visible algae you need to follow that process.

The three things are crystal clear pool water (including no dead algae on the floor of the pool), passing an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test, and a CC of less than 1.

You need to drain the pool due to high CYA, correct? Nothing else matters.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I'm curious if the pool has been deliberately or accidentally under chlorinated because of the presence of the Ozone and UV devices??
(Why a Pool Builder would put a UV device on a pool in AZ I can't imagine!?)

That pool should have had either a SWG or use Liquid Chlorine. Pucks are what caused the problem with the CYA and algae.

Maddie

 

[jorgeL]

There is three criteria for a successful completion of a SLAM Process. If you have visible algae you need to follow that process.

The three things are crystal clear pool water (including no dead algae on the floor of the pool), passing an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test, and a CC of less than 1.

You need to drain the pool due to high CYA, correct? Nothing else matters.

Yes, the algae is visible in the robot cleaner and the baskets and the CYA is high, so can't do the SLAM process with that high CYA.
I do wonder how do we know if we have algae if we can't see it, say for my own pool. Is it recommended to do the overnight test periodically?

Maddie,
The pool stopped being chlorinated because she stopped using the pool service she had, I think she did not have a good experience with them. Her husband just passed away a few months ago so she is going through some rough times and the last thing on her mind right now is the pool.

 

[Mdragger88]

I do wonder how do we know if we have algae if we can't see it, say for my own pool.

You would likely notice increased chlorine demand 1st , this would lead you to do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test
If you go below minimum for your cya you would also want to do an oclt to be sure nothing proliferated in that time the fc was low.
That’s the great thing about having your own reliable test kit at your disposal- you can test regularly & head off small issues before they are big ones!
If you maintain fc levels above minimum for your cya at all times you should not have an algae issue.

 

[kimkats]

I am stopping in to tell you THANK YOU for helping her out!!! The world needs more people like you!

 

[Mdragger88]

To add to my comment above- another sign is if your water looks a little cloudy or off instead of it’s usual TFP clear then it’s time to investigate & the oclt is the next go to.
If you wanna know what TFP clear is here’s some examples

How Clear is TFP Clear? Let's See (Pics Only Please).

How clear should my water be? A very common question. Here is mine on a calm morning where I could finally vacuum. Yes I know, I'm still manually vacuuming. It took me 7 years to finally get an SWG, I'm working on a robot. :) So now let's see your water clarity.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Desiato]

Yes, the algae is visible in the robot cleaner and the baskets and the CYA is high, so can't do the SLAM process with that high CYA.
I do wonder how do we know if we have algae if we can't see it, say for my own pool. Is it recommended to do the overnight test periodically?

Maddie,
The pool stopped being chlorinated because she stopped using the pool service she had, I think she did not have a good experience with them. Her husband just passed away a few months ago so she is going through some rough times and the last thing on her mind right now is the pool.

Hi jorgel.

Last year I started helping a friend who got divorced and didn't know how to look after her pool but she knew I did. We are good people so when a friend is in need we are happy to help but there's only so far our help can go. For me I was reliant on her son adding bleach every night during the summer months which started out Ok but when the pool needed a bottle of bleach once every few days, it started to slip his mind. The TFP way is for people who want and I stress WANT to maintain their pool, if it is dumped on you there's a chance you will forget or not appreciate a job well done as much as we do. If, as you say, the pool is the last thing on her mind I see two options. Adding bleach on a regular basis is clearly not on the table and maintaining the pool herself doesn't seem like a realistic prospect either so for me, you either drain the pool and leave it empty or find a new company for her to take over the maintenance. Sorry to be blunt but it's good to get ahead of this and see where it is going.

With my friend I will be switching them back to chlorine tablets and keeping on top of the creeping CYA with regular water replacement. That is also an option for you but if that's where you will end up after all the work you have to do (drain and SLAM), you might as well get someone else to do that from the start as you will be needed to look after the pool for the foreseeable future and that may not be something you had taken into account.

Just my two cents, good luck!